Labor's Edge: Views from the California Labor Movement

New AFL-CIO/Union Plus Jobs and Freedom Scholarships Honor 50th Anniversary of March on Washington

Aug. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To commemorate the historic 1963 march, the AFL-CIO, in partnership with Union Plus, announced today a new Dreams of Jobs and Freedom Scholarship program.

The scholarships will provide $5,000 each to at least 50 talented high school seniors—including those from union families—to help pay for the costs of higher education.

While there has been immense progress since the 1963 march, 50 years later voting rights are being challenged, immigrants are being denied their basic human rights and workers and their unions are under attack. Remember the core message from the March on Washington was that jobs and freedom go together.

The scholarships are designed to honor the legacy of the March on Washington by helping young people across the country turn their dream of attaining higher education into a reality.